Atlanta II: Dale Earnhardt Jr preview

Dale Earnhardt Jr. - driver, No. 8 Budweiser team:
"It's hard to express how it feels to hear the news about the
Hendrick plane crash. It's like a hammer to the chest. It takes the
wind out of you. The Hendricks are a great family and they've ...

Dale Earnhardt Jr. - driver, No. 8 Budweiser team:

"It's hard to express how it feels to hear the news about the
Hendrick plane crash. It's like a hammer to the chest. It takes the
wind out of you. The Hendricks are a great family and they've always
been very generous to me and to everyone in NASCAR. It's helpful to
have a strong family to surround you, and I know the Hendricks are a
great family. For me, being in the garage is like being surrounded by
your closest friends and family, and it really helped me through some
rough times. I'm sure Rick and all the families involved will receive
the support they need from everyone in the NASCAR family."

On rebounding after a tough weekend at Martinsville:

"Martinsville was disappointing, but it's behind us now. We're
moving on and staying focused on what we have to do, because we can't
afford any more slip-ups. We're a resilient team. Nothing keeps us
down for too long. Usually after a bad week, we have a good week. It
didn't used to be like that, but as we've matured we've
realized we can bounce back from anything. Atlanta is a track we've
always been really good at. Every time I go there I feel like I have a
chance to win. We did it last time; we can do it again."

Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser team have finished seventh or better in
the last six races at Atlanta Motor Speedway, including one win and four
top-fives. Dale Jr. has failed to lead laps there only twice in 10
career starts, and has been running at the finish in every one of them.
This is the longest streak of races without a DNF among the 499 drivers
that have competed at Atlanta since 1960. All drivers with more than nine
starts there have scored at least one DNF.

Dale Jr. saw his string of six consecutive top-10 finishes come to an end
Sunday at Martinsville Speedway with a 33rd-place finish and third DNF of
the season. The finish dropped Dale Jr. to third in the championship
point standings. With four races to go in the Chase for the Nextel Cup,
Dale Jr. trails leader Kurt Busch by 125 points. On the season, the Bud
team has five wins, 15 top-fives, and 20 top-10s.

EARNHARDT SUCCESS: The late Dale Earnhardt Sr. had a 9.543 average finish
and nine victories in 46 races at Atlanta, the best average finish among
all drivers with more than five starts there. Dale Jr. has the second
best average finish at Atlanta, with a 10.2 average in just 10 races
there.

ON THE REBOUND: If the first Atlanta race this season was any
indication, the Budweiser team is one of the best at rebounding after a
poor finish. Dale Jr.'s Atlanta victory came on the heels of a
35th-place finish at Las Vegas the week before - his worst finish of
the season. His Richmond win came after a 19th-place finish at
California, and his Bristol victory was only six days after a 21st-place
finish at Michigan. Of the three prior finishes of 30th or worst, Dale
Jr. has come back the following week to finish first or second two times.